


There's a Delicate Wisdom in the Art of Punching

by 3HobbitsInATrenchcoat



Series: Soosly 2020 [3]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Gen, Protective Stan Pines, halfassed boxing advice, teenage soos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:01:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25779355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/3HobbitsInATrenchcoat/pseuds/3HobbitsInATrenchcoat
Summary: After an incident at school, Stan teaches Soos how to throw a punch.
Relationships: Jesus "Soos" Alzamirano Ramirez & Stan Pines
Series: Soosly 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1867567
Comments: 3
Kudos: 43





	There's a Delicate Wisdom in the Art of Punching

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Soosly 2020
> 
> Week 3 - Wisdom

He'd still been barely a teen the first time he stumbled to his after school shift at the shack with a split lip and watery eyes. Stan had taken one look at him and breathed out a string of half-uttered swears before shooing the few remaining customers from the shack and turning the sign to closed.

Soos was horrified and protested but Stan shrugged off his complaints. “There weren't any more showin' up today, kiddo. Come with me.” He set a gentle hand on Soos's shoulder and steered him through the shack to the kitchen, gently prodding him into one of the sturdy chairs by the table. Soos watched, a little numbly, as his boss gathered a damp rag and some ice. He plopped them down on the table, pulling another chair over by Soos.

A few long moments went past in silence as Stan wiped the blood away from his face and gave him a wrapped baggie of ice to hold on the swelling. Then he sat back and took in the rest of Soos's appearance. Clean hands, no other signs of struggle... Stan sighed. “Care to tell me who did this to you?”

Soos' eyes widened just the barest amount. “Nobody, Mr. Pines. I... I walked into a telephone pole.”

Stan couldn't stop the snort of disbelief that left his nose. “Sure kid, and that telephone pole left knuckle-marks on your jaw. Look,” he leaned forward to make eye contact. “I can tell just by looking at you that you didn't start whatever this was, I just wanna make sure you're ok. You ain't in trouble with me.”

“I...” Soos trailed off, wincing as his lip ached. “There's just some dumb kids at school. They don't like that I'm friendly with everybody and my hobbies are weird and I just live with my Abuelita. Today I didn't run away when I saw them and I told them that what they were saying wasn't very nice. Next thing I know...” he gestures at his face.

Stan's frown has deepened throughout the whole retelling. He stares hard at the kid and then nods to himself, coming to a decision. He reaches out and ruffles Soos' hair affectionately. “A wise man knows how to pick his battles, gumdrop, but a wiser man knows how to defend himself if the battles pick him.” With a quiet “oof” he pushes back from the chair. “Go home and rest up. Bring a change of clothes and plan on staying late tomorrow. Now shoo, I gotta make a couple calls.”

For once, Stan didn't lock himself in the basement far into the night. Instead he called in some favors. (After phoning Sophie Ramirez and informing her of her grandson's condition so she didn't have a nasty surprise in about five minutes.)

By the time Soos finished his shift the next day, Stan had set up everything he needed on the back porch. It wasn't much, just a sandbag and some beginner mitts, but it was better than nothing.

“You wanted to see me, Mr. Pines?” Soos poked his head out the back door, eyes wide and taking in the additions. “Hey, what's all this?”

Stan turned around from where he was surveying the hanging bag. “Yeah, I'm gonna teach you how to box. You might never have to throw a punch at another person, but being quick and strong enough to block a punch is better than nothing. Got the go-ahead from your Abuelita last night.”

Soos' eyes stayed wide but he dutifully padded out onto the porch and let Stan teach him how to firmly wrap his hands. They went over and over the motions until Stan was satisfied that the teen could reliably do it every time.

“Everyone thinks boxing is just about the punching and the brute strength,” said Stan as he wrapped his own hands in demonstration. “And yeah, sometimes it just comes down to that, but at the end of the day what it teaches you is quick and careful thinking. You can't always block that fist coming for your face, you need to dodge or redirect it.” He lightly thumped the side of Soos' head with a scarred knuckle. “What's up here isn't just for fancy math and reading.”

Satisfied that Soos wouldn't break his hands on the bag, Stan helped him up. He walked him through some basic footwork and how to properly jab one arm forward. “It's not about how much power you can push from your shoulders, you gotta put the whole weight of your body behind it or you'll end up breaking something.” Stan coached Soos through some simple drills and then lead him over to the bag. “I'll hold the bag this time, give it all you've got.”

Soos eyed the sandbag warily, but carefully aligned his stance before taking a deep breath and punching the bag as hard as he could. Stan felt the vibrations and nodded to himself, this kid had potential.

“That's my boy,” said Stan, a proud gleam in his eye. He allowed himself a single moment of thought, a single ray of wistful thinking that this strong, cheerful lad could have been his. Then he shook his head and gently prodded Soos's shoulder to correct his stance. “Now do it a few dozen more times.”

**Author's Note:**

> Went a bit of an odd route with this prompt, but I feel like Stan would impart wisdom in a kind of… hands-on approach.
> 
> I hope you liked it! Please let me know what you thought!


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